Mar 16, 2014

We started the day at Scarboro Hills DGC, where it was chilly but still was a fun round. Before stepping onto the course we were warned by someone that we should watch out for someone who apparently shot a gun toward the course recently. Always nice.

After the round I filled up my growler and picked up a six pack of Dirty Little Freak at DuClaw on our way home.

I spent the rest of the day at home inside watching shows and going through photos. 

Mar 15, 2014

Joanna came down and we headed south(ish) to Patapsco State Park in Maryland for a hike. We found a nice loop that started out heavily wooded and rocky. We descended for a while before leveling out along a stream.

We had to cross the stream at this railroad bridge with a tunnel out to the other side and the river. This is where the path began to climb back up. We encountered an overlook that let us see the tops of trees and a small parking lot. Very exciting.

The trail continued on a paved path along the river and past the dam. There was a nice, big bridge that helped us get across the river and then we had to walk along the far bank where the trail was pretty degraded. It was pretty muddy and close to the water in a lot of places before it returned to being paved.

We followed the path up and around another incline area which I recognized as having done previously with Jess. We crossed over the river again on a shaky bridge and continued until we passed under the railroad again. This trail took us on a steep climb up to a big open field that turned out to be part of a Christian retreat. It might not have been the path we were looking for, but it got us back to the car.

We headed over to Rockburn Branch DGC for a game as the sun was dropping. I remember the course pretty well and I was able to play much better than the previous time I was there.

We got through the course before it got dark so that was nice. We had a good round.

We stopped at the Land of Kush, a vegan restaurant close to downtown Baltimore, where I got this amazing BBQ seitan and mac & cheese that gives The Abbaye's a run for its money. So good.

The Brewer's Art was right around the corner so we headed over to the really cool basement bar and I got a sampler of their Belgian beers. They were all quite good. Knowing that they were Belgian going in was helpful, but one was a sour Belgian that I really liked. The best part was the bar itself; dark and filled with beers lovers. I'd like to spend a night here with some friends.

We went up to DuClaw next where I was greeted with the Dirty Little Freak, a coconut caramel chocolate brown ale. It is just as wonderful as it sounds. I also tried their "Roulette" tap, which is a random beer that isn't offered on their list at all. It could be anything. The one I got tasted like a Belgian strong ale. It was pretty good, just not what I was craving.

I had a Euphoria and another Dirty Little Freak before we left. It was a fun night at the bar and then we went and found ourselves a Wal*Mart parking lot to camp in for the night.

Nov 7, 2013

After awaking quite early in the Wal*Mart lot to a leafblower outside the car, we got up and packed in then headed to a nearby cafe for a quick breakfast. We then headed over to Rockburn Branch DGC. It was overcast and only a little chilly, but a really nice day for disc golf. The grass was still a bit wet so I was repeatedly wiping down my disc after each shot. I didn't recognize the course except for the name until hole 3, which I recall being much more overgrown when Ryan, Nathan, Chuck, and I were there a couple of years ago. They have also updated the signs which desperately needed it.

The course was fun and the weather just got better as we played. There was a good mix of open and wooded holes, and the scenery was beautiful all the way around as the leaves were changing colors. Lots of bright yellows and oranges surrounded us, making it pleasant yet difficult to find my mostly yellow discs. I played pretty well overall. I found a disc out in the fairway on the front 9, and I almost lost one of my drivers when it sailed into the woods and got caught up a tree. Luckily Kate noticed it and I climbed up to get it.

After the course we were both ready for food. We made our way to Ellicott City and Ellicott Mills Brewery. We had to wait about 45 minutes for it to open so we walked around the town as it started to lightly drizzle. It was a really cute, quaint little town on a hill with old buildings and little shops lining the main street of which I took no photos. We went into a comic book shop where they sold a ton of hot sauces. I sampled quite a few and one of them did leave me gasping a bit. After enough sampling and reading bottles about scofield units it was time to go eat. Not my photo below. It wasn't that nice out either.

Ellicott offered 2 flights of 4 beers each. Of course we tried both because it's impossible to choose. There was a dunkel and a marzen that were both quite good as well as a quite refreshing pilsner and an Aussie style beer called Boomerang that I liked a lot. It tasted like a kolsch to me. We had some tasty food and some of the best fries I've had ever. I usually want to drown my fries in ketchup, but these were awesome with nothing. We finished up our flight and resigned to the fact that we would not be playing Patapsco State Park DGC that day so we headed home.

A long drive had me tired so I had a nap when I got home and later met Ryan for our first visit to the gym in quite a while. I found a lot of the exercises quite easy still when it came to ab things and push-ups, but once we got to pull-ups my gain of weight and loss of muscle really shone through. It's a sad fall from grace since I was so happy to have gained the ability to do 7 or so pull ups in a row when I could barely do 1 when I began. I'll just have to start over again from scratch. We took a nice long walk around the hospital and the college with plenty to talk about and a nice night. When I came home I watched Thursday shows and went to bed somewhat early.

Mar 23, 2012

I met Laura and Jess in Glassboro and began our drive at 4:30am toward Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland. After driving the periphery of the park for quite a while we found an entrance and came in. We were the first and only people in the park at 7am. I took some photos of the fog as they tried to nap in the car.

I walked the Switchback Trail down to the river and got some really great shots of the silhouetted trees and spiderwebs outlined by droplets of water.

We went over to the Rapids Trail after they stopped trying to sleep and wandered along the edge of the fast-flowing water. It was a nice secluded area with plenty of great views.

Henryton State Hospital is inside the park boundaries and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to explore the complex of abandoned buildings while we were so close. Several very large buildings sit out in the middle of the forest, long empty and decaying. It took us quite a while to walk through each of them.

They were all mostly gutted and covered in graffiti. It was interesting, but nothing really unique about any of it unfortunately.

We headed down to the southern part of the park and stopped at a picnic area to have lunch and rest for a bit. We then picked up the Cascade Falls trail and headed up the mild grade, following the stream.

The falls came pretty quickly on the hike and were smaller than we expected. The trail was a really nice and relaxing walk. Nothing too difficult. When we got back we were ready to head out.

On the way home we stopped at DuClaw for some food and a beer. The Celtic Ale was great. After hanging out for a bit at home Kate and I went to Christie's to hang out and watch The Lion King since we couldn't decide on any other movie.

Jan 30, 2012

I felt like I had to get away for a while and I didn't get a job so I headed south to Susquehanna State Park in Maryland. It didn't take that long to get there, surprisingly. I found the trail and put on my layers and my pack and headed out.

I was bundled up, but as I walked it got warm quickly so I was shedding my layers a bit. The trail was mostly wooded with a few brief breaks for a view over the water.

Eventually I came to another entrance point to the trail where I could get off and check out the scenic view down the Susquehanna River. I love this view of all the bridges in the distance. It was a nice little stop and then I continued on. The path didn't get strenuous until about two miles after this point.

The rolling hills started and there were a few steep spots and stream crossings. That part was fun and there were some ruins of an old barn and silo that I walked through.

I was famished by the time I finished the hike and I headed straight for DuClaw when I got in my car. I sampled a few beers that I hadn't tried before while I waited for my blackened tuna sandwich. The sandwich took forever, but the beer was good and the sandwich was amazing once I finally got it.

I slowly made my way home after this and had a shower and hung out for the rest of the night.

May 15, 2011

I got to Alex's with all of my stuff and we began the process of packing up her car. Things fit surprisingly well. We got everything in the trunk and the backseat with some room to spare. After we were pretty sure that we had everything we got on the road and got breakfast at Wawa.

We didn't get farther than Delaware before Alex got pulled over for speeding over the bridge. She was going like 40 miles over the speed limit, but the officer gave her a warning after she said she didn't know. (I didn't know I couldn't do that...) The officer asked where she was from and then said, "They have them big white signs with black letters on them up there?" It was a funny ending to that situation.

The driving went pretty smoothly from there. We followed the highway through Maryland and into West Virginia. We seemed to be making good time.

We both started to get tired at one point so we stopped and got Starbucks drinks. I never drink those things, but it was actually pretty good. We also got some West Virginia rock candy, which was just like hard candy. The pina colada kind was great though.

We drove past the WV Capitol building a couple of times because we weren't supposed to go that way. We missed a turn and headed about forty miles out of our way before we noticed.

Eventually we started getting tired and it was late. We had been on the road for about fifteen hours so we were ready to stop. We found a Wal*Mart in Kentucky and stopped to use their bathroom and found a parking spot.

We got somewhat comfortable in the car and prepared to sleep while listening to Stuff You Should Know. I didn't have that much trouble getting to sleep, surprisingly.

Mar 13, 2011

We packed up my car in the morning and grabbed some breakfast at Heritage's then got on the road southbound. It wasn't long before Alex was sleeping in the backseat.

A few short hours later we arrived at Assateague Island, Maryland. We stopped at the Visitor's Center for information and then headed over the bridge.

We parked at a trailhead and took a walk on the beach-sandy path near the ocean and through a small wooded section.

There were a few lookout points. There wasn't a lot to look at besides the reeds and grasses blowing in the wind. We were all on the lookout for horses and thought we'd see them right away. We were wrong.

We walked down to the beach and sat there watching the waves crashing in. It was a warm day and it was nice on the beach.

We spent some time looking through Cait's sunglasses so it looked like the sky was orange, Nathan build a sandman which we promptly destroyed with rocks and we took photos in the sand.

On a drive back through the park, we encountered the horses we had been looking for! They were just walking across the road.

Alex got closer than they suggest you should but the horse seemed to like her and she was really loving it.

They are very casual about walking around in the street. This guy inspected my car for a while and then decided it wasn't interesting. We stayed there for a long time playing with the ponies and taking photos of them before they got bored with us and went away.

Nathan and I set up his tent at the campsite so we could stash all of our trunk items inside and then go shopping for groceries. Shopping was awkward because the guy at the little store we went to was offended that I wanted vegetables. "Wouldn't want to eat anything unhealthy! HA!" is what he said. So we left. We got produce at a Food Lion, along with a bunch more food than we'd ever need for one night of camping.

When we got back we took a boarded trail along the bay. This one was pretty cool, with a lot of views over the water and we could see a bunch of fish in the water.

We went back down to the beach with the intention of hanging out there for a while. I read some of my book and just enjoyed lying there and looking at the day moon. It had gotten a little chillier so I'm glad I wore a jacket.

Nathan took his shoes off so he could go in the water. I joined him and it was frigid! I wasn't really surprised but the water was numbing. It would have hurt if I could feel it. The warm sand felt great after standing in there for a minute.

Alex set up her tripod and we took a bunch of pictures as the sun was getting lower in the sky. It was pretty chilly at that point so we headed back to the car.

After setting up the other tent, we took a walk and found a nice viewing area for sunset near our camp. The sun set slowly and it was beautiful. Alex pondered whether she had ever seen one before and we took way too many photos.

We sat on the dock as the sun ducked just below the horizon. It was a great end to the day and a nice start to the night.

We went looking for wood, some of us finding more than others...., and then I got the fire started as the remaining daylight took its leave.

Nathan got his chef on and cut up the veggies into little pieces so we could wrap them up in aluminum foil and leave them in the fire to cook. We seasoned them and then got them cooking.

It was getting cold and windy so I tried to stay by the fire with a beer so I could be warm all the time. The food was hot and delicious. The aluminum cooking method worked wonderfully. Gotta remember that one.

We drank and ate and drank and drank and tried to keep our feets warm by the fire all night. It seemed like it was getting so late but it was probably not even ten yet. Leinenkugel's Fireside Brown Ale was a great choice of beer, though. So good and fitting. It was a lot of fun keeping the fire going and just being around a campfire again.

We retired to the tents at probably a ridiculously early time, but it felt really late at night. It was so damn cold and I forgot my sleeping bag because I'm brilliant so I just had my comforter. It was not sufficient and we ended up sleeping in the car with the heater on! It was amusingly toasty in there.